High street travel agency Dawson and Sanderson has seen revenue and profits rise thanks to a resurgence in appetites for package holidays.
The independent operator, which has stores in Tyneside, Cumbria and Yorkshire, said customers increasingly plumped for higher value packages, including long haul destinations and cruises, which helped to boost revenue per bookings. New accounts covering the year to the end of February for the Newcastle-based firm show turnover grew from £9.6m to £10.4m and operating profits were boosted from £901.427 to £1.07m.
Director David Chambers, the grandson of firm's founder, Tom Dawson, who passed away earlier this year, said Dawson and Sanderson had enjoyed a strong year in the period under review. He told BusinessLive the business had seen another increase in revenue in the months since, as a buoyant late market, and growth in cruise customers helped drive earnings.
In a review of the performance to the end of February, the firm said it had enjoyed a high rate of repeat clients who had sought out a trusted name in the market in the wake of uncertainty sown by Covid. It said sales in its 20 bricks-and-mortar branches continued to be strong as it hoped to expand its high street network and move existing stores to higher footfall locations. Upgrades to its North Shields branch, made during the year, will form the blueprint for similar refurbishments across its other sites.
Meanwhile investment in training saw the recruitment of its first group of apprentices since pre-Covid in autumn 2023, who have now started to pass their qualifications with merits and distinctions.
Writing in the accounts, Mr Chambers said: "CLIA - Cruise Lines International Association reported that the º£½ÇÊÓƵ cruise market grew by 34% in 2023-2024, representing 27% of European cruise passengers, with the average cruise duration the highest in Europe. This trend has seen a marked increase in the company's cruise passenger sales, which rose to 12% of all travel booked during the past year and provided the opportunity to meet cruise lines' sales targets and override commission earnings, boosting overall revenue and profitability in this area.
"The travel industry experienced slower booking levels during what is historically the peak booking months of January and February, driven by tour operators pricing their family holidays higher than expected. Coupled with the rising cost of living, family booking levels were lower than predicted during these months. The company's overall profitability, however, remained buoyant since the customer demographic of the company was more resilient and high-value travel reservations continued to be strong.
"To maintain market share and provide the expertise that these specialised types of travel bookings demand, our recently appointed training and development manager launched training initiatives for sales staff that included dedicated cruise line, country and product training, thus ensuring the skills set within our teams continued to receive excellent reviews on external review sites and our level of repeat clients and recommendations continues to grow."
